Choosing the right exchange for your SMSF isn’t just about finding the lowest fees or the biggest list of tokens. It’s about compliance, auditability, and security. Every dollar that flows into your SMSF exchange account must come from the fund’s bank account, every trade needs to be documented, and every withdrawal should head straight to a wallet controlled by the SMSF. The ATO expects nothing less, and your auditor will be looking for that clean chain of evidence.
Not all exchanges are built with that in mind. Some welcome SMSFs with open arms: entity onboarding, ABN verification, tailored reporting, and account types that line up neatly with super law. Others are still stuck in “retail-first” mode, where trustees end up shoehorning their fund into a personal account setup, and then scrambling at audit time to prove ownership.
That’s why this article focuses on the exchanges we actually use in SMSFs. This isn’t a ranking based on hype or budgets, it’s a practical walk-through of the platforms that currently pass the SMSF test under Australian conditions.
